Trust-based relational intervention as a trauma-informed teaching approach

Abstract

This paper evaluates P-12 American school teachers’ perceptions of a six-session training that used the trauma-informed Trust-based Relational Intervention (TBRI) system with teachers in one socioeconomically vulnerable school district during the 2018-19 school year. The research questions explored the training participants’ (n=41) opinions about the TBRI training, as well as the opinions of the school district’s veteran teachers (n=52) about trends related to student and teacher mental health in schools over the last five years. The training participants found the TBRI training series socially acceptable and valuable. Veteran teachers in the district where the study was conducted reported increased levels of emotional distress in students and in themselves.

Keywords

• trauma-informed teaching
• social/emotional learning
• trust-based relational intervention
• student mental health
• secondary trauma